Dedicated to seeking out the misinformation of the right wing machine.
Main Entry: 1lib·er·al
Pronunciation: 'li-b(&-)r&l
Function: adjective
1. Liberal -- Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
2. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Conservatives Can't Win on the Merits, they have to Lie to get Americans to Support their Policies. I ask my Republican Friends, is this Democracy?

Cracking the Code

Here's the transcript of Bush and Alito's statements at the White House yesterday.

"He understands that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people," Bush said.

"These talking points betray those items the White House think are Alito's biggest weaknesses. But they also show that Bush is STILL unwilling to go to the mat for conservative principles.

"Why NOT say, 'Yeah, he opposes abortion, and I think it's spectacular!'?

"Why NOT say, 'Government has no role in policing discrimination'?

"Why NOT say, 'There SHOULD be less separation between church and state'?"

It's an interesting point. There is, after all, such a thing as judicial ideology. There are judges who believe that abortion should be outlawed, that the government's role in righting social wrongs should be severely limited, and that church and state are not mutually exclusive.

Then there are judges who believe that abortion should remain legal, that the judiciary's role in righting social wrongs has provided its proudest moments, and that the separation of church and state is, well, sacred.

But the White House doesn't seem interested in explaining precisely where Alito stands on this spectrum -- at least not in public.

Ralph Z. Hallow writes in the Washington Times: "Karl Rove called key conservative interest group leaders yesterday morning to give them a heads-up just before the White House made public President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court."

And at the end of the day, we are treated to the spectacle of right-wing ideologues underwriting hugely expensive ad campaigns to convince voters Alito is not a right-win ideologue.